Kebabs

By Food & Wine
Updated January 13, 2017
These spectacular kebab recipes include spicy chicken skewers, grilled shrimp satay, delicious yakitori and more.
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Honey-Thyme Chicken-and-Apricot Kebabs

Credit: © Nicole Franzen
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To amp up simple grilled chicken kebabs, F&W's Justin Chapple adds fresh apricots to the skewers and brushes them with a sticky, fragrant honey-thyme glaze.

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Chicken Thigh Kebabs with Chile-Yogurt Sauce

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Simple and tasty, chef Jimmy Bannos, Jr.’s sweet-smoky chicken is a great go-to dish any night of the week.

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Herb-Marinated Mixed Skewers

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Chef Matteo Gambi grills these marinated pork and bacon-wrapped turkey skewers for a great charred flavor, then finishes them in the oven to keep them juicy.

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Spiced Shrimp and Tomato Kebabs

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This is a perfect party dish because it's so easy to assemble, and you can marinate and skewer the shrimp ahead of time.

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Tunisian Chicken Kebabs with Currants and Olives

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Susan Feniger's sweet-and-tangy marinated chicken skewers are adapted from her book, Street Food. They are flavorful enough to eat on their own, but they're even better with the chunky currant-and-olive relish.

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Red Curry Chicken Kebabs with Minty Yogurt Sauce

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For spicy chicken kebabs as addictive as Buffalo wings, Kerry Simon creates a fantastically simple marinade using just jarred red curry paste, vegetable oil and salt.

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Vermicelli with Chicken Skewers and Nuoc Cham

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In this version of a Vietnamese dish, individual piles of cucumber, fresh herbs, and grilled chicken are arranged on a platter of vermicelli and bean sprouts. Tangy nuoc cham sauce is poured over all. As each diner takes a portion, the components intermingle.

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Grilled Shrimp Satay

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In Singapore, satays are usually made with chicken or lamb. But for parties, Chris Yeo likes to use shrimp because he thinks it's more festive. He marinates the shellfish in an alluring mixture of sautéed garlic, ginger and ground spices, then threads each shrimp on its own skewer and grills them until they're lightly charred.

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Chicken Thigh Yakitori

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These sweet, charred chicken skewers make a terrific appetizer or passed hors d'oeuvre.

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Spicy Lamb Shish Kebabs

Credit: © Quentin Bacon
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11 of 25

Grilled Squash Ribbons and Prosciutto with Mint Dressing

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Grilling zucchini and summer squash ribbons on skewers is terrific because the edges become wonderfully charred and crisp, while the insides stay tender and juicy.

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Herb-Marinated Chicken Skewers with Harissa

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Andres Barrera briefly marinates chicken in herbs and cumin before skewering and grilling it; then he serves it with a cool chickpea puree and fiery harissa. His harissa is a knockout, scented with toasted and ground cumin seeds, coriander and caraway seeds, but jarred harissa also works.

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Chile-Rubbed Swordfish Kebabs with Cucumber Salad

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Swordfish is an extra-healthy choice since it's a source of omega-3 fatty acids, but the assertive spice rub here also works well on shrimp and pork tenderloin.

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Shrimp and Lemon Skewers with Feta-Dill Sauce

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Squeeze the charred lemons over the shrimp before serving for a tangy, smoky hit of flavor. You may want to make extra feta sauce to have with lean lamb steaks or chicken skewers.

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Grilled Zucchini Kebabs with Zucchini Dip

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Herb-and-Chile-Marinated Fish Shashlik

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Russians usually make these fish kebabs with sturgeon, the firm-fleshed white fish prized for its caviar. Since most wild sturgeon is now endangered, look for sustainable farmed fish or try black cod or swordfish.

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Chicken Satay with Peanut Sauce

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These deliciously spiced grilled chicken skewers are perfect with a sweet-and-tangy peanut sauce.

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Bacon-and-Romaine Skewers with Blue Cheese Dressing

Credit: Jody Horton
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Wedge salad (iceberg lettuce with blue cheese dressing and bacon) is a classic American dish. Here, James Holmes reconfigures it as a playful cocktail snack.

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Tomato-and-Cilantro-Marinated Chicken Shashlik

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Grating tomatoes is a quick way to create the juicy puree that becomes a tangy base for a super-simple marinade.

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Grilled Lamb and Red Onion Skewers

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Monkfish and Chorizo Kebabs

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Middle Eastern Lamb Skewers

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Chef Michael Solomonov adds onion juice or pureed onions to his Middle Eastern–style marinades to tenderize and caramelize the meat. The marinade is great on chicken breast as well as lamb.

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Turkey Kibbe Kebabs with Two Sauces

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Kibbe kebabs are made from chopped meat and (very often) bulgur and formed into sausagelike shapes. Here, turkey replaces the traditional lamb.

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Yogurt-Marinated Lamb Kebabs With Lemon Butter

Credit: PHOTO © KANA OKADA
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Here, lamb is marinated in yogurt to make it exceptionally tender, then given an extra burst of tangy flavor with a basting of lemon butter just before serving.

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Chicken Meatball and Shishito Yakitori

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These juicy Japanese meatballs, known as tsukune, are grilled on skewers with the finger-size green peppers called shishitos. Most shishitos are mild, but about 10 percent are quite spicy, so be warned: There’s no way to tell which kind you’ve got before you bite.

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